One of the biggest law firms in Chicago is about to become one of the biggest in the world. Piper Rudnick, which five years ago was a Chicago-based firm of 355 lawyers, agreed Saturday to merge with the British law firm DLA to create a legal giant of 2,700 lawyers. The deal, set to close […]

Partners at U.S. law firm Piper Rudnick LLP and London-based DLA voted to merge, creating the world’s third- largest law firm by number of lawyers. The merger will be completed on Jan. 1, the firms said in a press release. The combined firm will have 2,700 lawyers across 49 offices in the U.S., Europe and

High-earning lawyers are to have their fees cut under plans to limit the length of all criminal trials to six months. The move follows a parliamentary report that found a mere six cases cost the taxpayer a quarter of the Crown Court legal aid budget. There are also concerns that long trials are a strain

Faced with seemingly endless turmoil in the United States, Clifford Chance is attempting to right its ship with some worldwide deck swabbing. Since its 2000 merger with New York’s Rogers & Wells, the London-based firm has lost more than 30 partners in the U.S., including such standouts as Kevin Arquit, Kenneth Gallo and, most recently,

The courtroom drama of shareholders vs. Disney’s battling Mikes — Michael Ovitz and Michael Eisner — has become a can’t-miss reality show for entertainment industry executives. Not that others aren’t also following the Delaware business court lawsuit over the Disney board’s handling of Ovitz’s hiring — and his $140 million severance package. “This is a

Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) has raided Shaw Pittman’s London office by taking its three remaining partners including outsourcing star Alistair Maughan. Shaw Pittman’s London managing partner Maughan is joining MoFo together with outsourcing and technology partners David Skinner and Andrew Smith. MoFo has added an excellent outsourcing team to its burgeoning London office following up

After three months of talks, Boston-based Ropes & Gray and New York intellectual property firm Fish & Neave have decided to join forces. The leaders of the two firms said Monday that they expect to merge around the end of the year. While 150-lawyer Fish & Neave will be absorbed into the 580-attorney Ropes &

Britain’s biggest law firms continue to dominate the world in terms of revenue, despite growing competition from their American counterparts. Four of the top six firms in a definitive new analysis of the world’s leading 100 firms by revenue were British. They are Clifford Chance, which remained the world’s largest firm, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters,

Who are the most successful plaintiffs firms in the land? For the first time The American Lawyer has answered that question, identifying the 16 highest-grossing plaintiffs firms in the United States. They are a group diverse in geography–they dot the map from New York to California, Chicago to Florida–and in size. Reaud, Morgan & Quinn

Imagine, on the silver screen, Jack Nicholson poring over a textbook for hours, searching for an obscure election law precedent, dressed in a Land’s End suit and black running shoes, then yammering on a cell phone while driving to a Tallahassee, Fla., courthouse in his Lexus. Perhaps, coming soon to a theater near you: “David